Monday, November 26, 2012

Annotation:
As
the only son of one of the world’s most notorious serial killers, Jasper Dent
has always been worried that he will follow in his father’s footsteps.
Determined to make sure that doesn’t happen, however, Jasper uses the “skills”
he learned from his father to try and help solve a recent string of grisly murders
in his home town.

Personal
thoughts: One of my favorite shows on TV is Dexter, the story of a serial killer who only targets other
murderers, so when I read about I Hunt
Killers, I was immediately intrigued. The story does have some similarities
to the popular Showtime series, but is also creative and unique in its own
right. I really love reading young adult novels by male authors, especially
when the leading character is also a male. Jazz is very believably and
well-written, and I found myself genuinely caring about his inner struggle with
his gruesome past as well as his relationships with the people in his life. I
did get pretty creeped out at several points in the novel (particularly in one
scene involving the family dog…eek!), but I had trouble putting the book down
despite these trepidations. I’m really looking forward to seeing where Barry
Lyga takes this series and would recommend it to mature teen readers,
particularly guys, who want something edgy and entertaining.

Plot
summary: Four years ago the world discovered the truth about Jasper “Jazz”
Dent’s father, Billy: he was a sociopathic serial killer who had murdered over
120 innocent people in his career. Growing up, Jazz never understood that the “lessons”
his father gave him on a daily basis were anything but normal: how to dismember
a body, how to avoid leaving evidence, how to choose your victim. Once Billy
Dent was caught, however, and the world came to know him as the son of a
monster, Jazz began to wonder if his dad had accomplished his goal and groomed
him to become a serial killer himself. Now Jazz is seventeen and still living
in the small town Lobo’s Nod with his grandma. Jazz is determined to avoid
following in his father’s footsteps, so when a string of bizarre murders take
place, Jazz decides to use the “talents” his father gave him to help the local
sheriff’s office solve the case. Together with his best friend, Howie, and his
girlfriend, Connie, Jazz tries to put himself in the killer’s shoes: piecing
together who the victims were and why they were chosen. As Jazz becomes more
immersed in the case, however, terrifying memories from his childhood begin to
resurface, memories that he had locked away, making him realize he might not be
so different from his father after all.

Review: Gruesome,
creepy but strangely entertaining, this first novel in a new series for teens
by veteran author Barry Lyga proves to be as disturbing as it is enjoyable. Squeamish
readers be warned: the subject matter of this book is not for the faint of
heart. Jazz is the son of a serial killer, one who raped, tortured and brutally
murdered his victims in a very sadistic fashion. A lot of the grisly details of
these crimes, and more, are included in the story, making it appropriate for a
high school audience, but not recommended for younger teens or tweens. In fact,
much of the novel is more suitable for a mature reader, from Jazz’s internal
struggle over the similarities he observes between himself and his father to
the new string of murders that he takes it upon himself to help solve. Jazz
might still be in high school, but adults can easily enjoy his efforts to come
to terms with his past and the methods he uses to unravel the crimes of a
serial killer other than his father. The book is very well-written, with a
great deal of character development put into Jazz, his best friend, Howie,
girlfriend, Connie, and “dear old dad,” Billy. The story ends on a cliffhanger
and is intriguing enough that readers who enjoyed I Hunt Killers will definitely be yearning for the sequel, Game, which is set to be released on
April 23, 2013.

- Do you think that Jasper is a sociopath like
his father? Why or why not?- Why do you think Howie has remained a friend
to Jasper for such a long time?- What do you think was the significance of the
severed fingers?- Why do you think G. William didn’t want to
believe the murders were being committed by a serial killer?- What do you think was the motive of the
Impressionist?- What would you like to see happen in the
sequel?

Friday, November 23, 2012

Annotation:
After
a devastating earthquake destroys Los Angeles, seventeen-year-old Mia Price is struggling
to live in a world that is falling apart. Her only solace lies in her unlikely
addiction: being struck by lightning.

Personal
thoughts: I love dystopian novels so I was pumped to read this one since I
thought the lightning was a nice twist. Unfortunately, it didn’t really live up
to my expectations. I found it to be too jumbled and wasn’t sure what kind of
direction it was going in. I really wish the author had focused more on one
main concept because I think she would have created a really awesome story had
that been the case. I do think she has some interesting ideas, however, and
look forward to seeing what she comes up with in the future. Hopefully she can
improve and write something truly outstanding.

Plot
summary: Seventeen-year-old Mia Price has tried for years to hide her
darkest secret from the outside world. While most girls her age are interested
in boys or music, Mia is addicted to lightning. Mia has been struck dozens of
times, so much, in fact, that her body is covered with red veins that snake
around like a lightning bolt. She doesn’t know why or how, but she seems to
attract lightning, and can even feel a storm coming like tingles on her skin.
After her abilities inadvertently cause her to seriously injure one of her
friends, Mia, her mother and brother, Parker, leave their home in Lake Havasu,
Arizona and move to Los Angeles to start over. Mia’s plans for a new life are
put on hold, however, after a devastating earthquake, accompanied by a powerful
lightning storm, destroy the city. Most of Los Angeles is killed, the rest
displaced into a strange Tent City on the beaches. Those who were lucky enough
not to lose their homes in the earthquake are left to fend for themselves as
supplies of water and food run short. To make matters worse, a mysterious
religious figure known as Rance Ridley Prophet, who accurately predicted the
coming of the storm and earthquake days before it happened, has taken hold of
much of the city’s survivors. Preaching that God is punishing Earth for its
sins, Prophet’s Followers, clad all in white, roam the city like a church militia,
trying to recruit anyone and everyone to their fold. Opposing Prophet are the
Seekers, a group determined to show the Followers that their leader is a
con-artist who is using the disaster to gain power. Not interested in taking
sides, Mia soon finds herself in the middle of the conflict between the
Followers and the Seekers, both seeming to know about her abilities and wanting
to use them to their advantage.

Review: Fans of
dystopian literature are sure to be interested when reading the description of Struck, the first novel in a new series
by author Jennifer Bosworth. The idea of someone not only getting struck by
lightning, but surviving and eventually becoming addicted to it is very
intriguing. Unfortunately, however, Struck
suffers from a common problem that plagues many young adult novels: too
many ideas in one book. Individually, each of the concepts in the novel would
make for a great story: post-apocalyptic Los Angeles destroyed by an earthquake
started by lightning, a war between a religious leader and his followers and
those who oppose him, a girl who is addicted to getting struck by lightning.
Put together, however, the novel feels a little schizophrenic. Mia is a
somewhat likable protagonist, wanting to protect her mother and brother at all
costs. What is frustrating about her character, and as a result much of the
book, is that the reason behind her ability to be struck by lightning and her
subsequent addiction to it is never explained. Most of the time when someone is
struck, they are seriously injured or killed, so why is Mia able to be struck
over and over again without dying? If the significance of the lightning
addiction as a genetic abnormality, paranormal ability, etc. was explained, the
novel would have likely made more sense. The conclusion of the story as well
feels very rushed and unresolved, but hopefully the author will be explain to
expand on the events that occur and more in the sequel. With so many dystopian
novels available for teens, Struck,
unfortunately does not stand out enough to be easy to recommend.

Genre: Science-Fiction

Reading
level: Grade 8+

Similar
titles: Cinder by Marissa
Meyer, Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel,
Divergent by Veronica Roth, Eve by Anna Carey, Legend by Marie Lu, Partials by
Dan Wells, The Pledge by Kimberly
Derting, Starters by Lissa Price, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi.

- How would you describe the Spark?- Explain Prophet and his control over his
Followers. Was he a truly religious man? Do you think people like him exist in
our world?- Why do you think Mia was apprehensive about
joining both the Followers and the Seekers?- Were you surprised to learn the truth about
Jeremy? Why or why not?- What was the significance of Tarot Cards in
the novel?- What would you like to see happen in the sequel?

Friday, November 9, 2012

Annotation:
As
part of a senior project, Nora Kane and her best friend Chris are working with
the eccentric Professor Hoffpauer to decipher a centuries old manuscript
written in code. After Chris is murdered, however, Nora realizes that the book
has begun a dangerous series of events and finds herself in Prague, on the run
from an ancient society and looking for the truth about a mysterious device
known as the Lumen Dei.

Personal
thoughts: I am a big fan of stories like The DaVinci Code that offer a mix of mystery, adventure and
history, so I found a lot to enjoy in The
Book of Blood and Shadow. The twists and turns in Nora’s quest to discover
the truth about the Lumen Dei always
kept me on my toes, and I found myself genuinely surprised by some of the
events in the story. I did find the novel to be a bit complicated at times and
it had a slow start, so I would recommend it to readers who aren’t discouraged
if the action doesn’t happen on the first page. For teens who want something
that is going to make them think and keep them on the edge of their seat,
however, this is easy to recommend!

Plot
summary: After the death of her older brother years earlier,
seventeen-year-old Nora Kane didn’t think she’d ever be able to be close with
anyone again. After a scholarship lands her at the exclusive Chapman Prep,
however, she meets Chris Moore and his girlfriend Adriane Ames, and the trio
soon becomes inseparable. At the beginning of Nora’s senior year, and Chris’
first year at a local university, Nora is invited to do a special project and,
along with Chris and his roommate Max, assist the eccentric Professor Hoffpauer
in deciphering a centuries old book written in a mysterious code. Nora’s job is
to translate the letters of Elizabeth Weston, a woman who lived in Prague at
the end of the 16th century whose father was thought to have cracked
the book’s code. As they spend more and more time together, Nora finds herself
falling for the soft spoken Max and, for the first time since her brother’s
death, she is happy. Everything changes, however, when Chris is brutally
murdered. Adriane, who witnesses the murder, is catatonic and Max, who the police
suspect killed Chris, is nowhere to be found. Nora soon realizes that it is the
book, and the information it contains, that have caused her and her friends to
be drawn into a dangerous conflict that has been raging for centuries. Determined
to discover the truth about the book and save Max, Nora finds herself in
Prague, on the hunt for answers about a mysterious machine known as the Lumen Dei and the ancient society that
will stop at nothing to protect it.

Review: Fans of Dan
Brown’s The DaVinci Code or films
like National Treasure or Indiana Jones will find much to enjoy in
veteran author Robin Wasserman’s latest novel, The Book of Blood and Shadow. Although it is complicated and the plot
takes a bit of time to really get moving, readers who are willing to stick with
the book will discover a story full of twists and turns that combines
adventure, danger, religion and history. What makes The Book of Blood and Shadow more complex that most novels for
young adults, but ultimately rewarding, is that the author devotes some serious
time into developing the characters. Nora in particular is very fleshed out
with a great deal of attention given to the backstory of her brother’s death.
Her friends are also written with a lot of detail, making it all the more
intriguing when the story shifts and Nora begins to discover that what she
thought she knew about them might not be true. The historical and geographical aspects
of the novel are also well-written, and readers can expect to learn quite a bit
about the city of Prague. It is difficult to describe the events of the plot
without giving too much away, but suffice it to say that the story keeps the
reader guessing at every turn. A good choice for teen readers who want
something full of adventure.

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Welcome to my blog! I'm a librarian who loves to read...unusual, right? This blog contains my reviews and thoughts about the books I read, and other information for tweens, teens, parents, teachers, librarians and anyone else who loves books. Enjoy!